Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
Ryan Callahan scored three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Move over, Hollywood and NFL types, golf's two real A-listers take center stage Sunday at Pebble Beach, both in need of a win.
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
Marlies Schild of Austria won her sixth World Cup slalom of the season Saturday after overall leader Lindsey Vonn and defending champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch crashed out in the opening run on the windy Pyrenees course.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
AP
ARLINGTON, Va. - First, Alex Ovechkin was day-to-day. Then he was week-to-week.
Now the latest, courtesy coach Bruce Boudreau: “Hopefully it’s no more than two weeks.”
The league’s two-time reigning MVP has the most serious injury of his NHL career, a “upper-body strain” that could test just how good the Washington Capitals can be this season.
Ovechkin did not practice Tuesday, but he spoke to reporters in the locker room. He wore a T-shirt and gym shorts without a visible sign of a bandage or brace — nothing to indicate which body part is ailing. In hockey, secrecy is the norm when it comes to injuries, especially when the patient is the world’s greatest player.
“Sometimes players have injuries,” he said. “Every player gets hurt. I’m lucky I don’t have nothing broken. It’s just ...”
Ovechkin paused.
“Something,” he continued with a smile. “You think I’m going to tell right now?”
Ovechkin has missed only four games — just two because of injury — since coming to the NHL in 2005. Game No. 5 comes Wednesday at New Jersey. He’s paced the Capitals with a league-leading 14 goals this season, helping the team to a comfortable early lead in the Southeast Division.
“I think we can pick up the slack,” captain Chris Clark said. “We have a really good team and we’ll be able to show that to everybody else now. There’s been games where he hasn’t scored and we’ve won, but he does take a lot of focus on the ice.”
Ovechkin wouldn’t rule out returning for Friday’s game against Florida, but Boudreau made that sound like a reach.
“It’s Ovie. He does things no one else can do,” the coach said. “I don’t know if it’s a viable option or not, but we’ll make sure he’s healthy when he plays. ... I just know that he’s very tolerant to pain. He wants to play so badly. Given those two equations, if anybody can be back sooner, it’s him.”
Ovechkin says he’s not sure when he was injured. Boudreau thinks it happened during a large scrum that started when Ovechkin and Jason Chimera exchanged a bump for a shove in the second period of Sunday’s loss to Columbus.
Ovechkin has been a physical player from his first game in the league four years ago. While his style make him more vulnerable to injuries, he’s not about to change.
“He’s one of those guys that if he didn’t play that way, he wouldn’t be the player that he is,” Clark said. “You can’t tell a guy like that to not go out and skate as hard as he can or to check everybody. It’s not in his makeup and he wouldn’t be as effective, so you have to take the good with the bad with him.”
Ovechkin plans to travel with the team while he recovers.
“Take some nachos, take some Coke, and enjoy the game. Hope the guys are going to win,” he said. “I don’t want to stay at home and watch the game at home. I want to travel and I want to be a part of the team, too.”
Ryan Callahan scored three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
ProHockeyTalk headlines |
 | Video: NHL from NBC Sports |
 Gretzky says Cup race is wide open In the latest NHL Network news update, Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky talks about the division races and how 22 teams have a shot to win it all this year. |
 | Slideshow |
 | NHL All-Stars Take a look at the players who competed in Team Chara's 12-9 victory over Team Alfredsson. more photos |
| Slideshow |
 | more photos |
| Slideshow |
 | more photos |
| Slideshow |
 |
| Slideshow |
 | more photos |
 | Slideshow |
 |
The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.